Defense still a concern for coaches

Pulling out a victory in overtime against Alabama didn't erase the concern for Georgia about teams driving the ball down the field against the defense in the fourth quarter of SEC games this season.

"It might be just an attitude thing," coach Mark Richt said Tuesday. "I'm going to challenge the defense this week on that very point and really the rest of the season that we've got to finish."

Georgia has yielded the second fewest yards in the SEC (282.5 per game), but has had trouble coming up with big stops late.

South Carolina went 40 yards in six plays, milking 3:22 off the game clock before Georgia finally got the ball back with 1:20 remaining at its own 20 and failed to score in a 16-12 loss.

Alabama forced overtime after rallying from a 20-10 lead with 10 fourth-quarter points.

The Crimson Tide went 88 yards in 10 plays to tie the game on a 6-yard touchdown run from John Parker Wilson with 1:09 remaining.

"The mark of a great defense is just being able to put your foot down and say 'You're not getting any more yards, this is it, get ready to punt the ball,' " cornerback Asher Allen said. "Even on first down, that's your mentality. We weren't able to do that on the last drive."

Players and Richt said fatigue wasn't an issue. Georgia wasn't making defensive calls differently than earlier in the game, Richt said.

Alabama picked up 43 yards on a Wilson pass to Keith Brown, beating Bryan Evans on the play.

Richt called a timeout after two more plays to remind the team that no matter how many yards Alabama gained, keeping them out of the end zone was the big thing.

"Most great defense feel like when we need one great stop to win the game, we can get it," Richt said. "That'll be something we need to continue to push for."

Chandler's job at tight end not secure

Tight ends coach David Johnson told his players in a Monday meeting that "the best man this week will be the starter," at the position against Ole Miss, freshman Bruce Figgins said.

The starting job is up for grabs after junior Tripp Chandler dropped three passes against Alabama.

"As a player for Georgia, you just can't let that happen," said Chandler, who admitted his confidence was shaken.

Chandler also made an 11-yard catch on fourth down on Georgia's last drive in regulation.

Richt said he hasn't lost confidence in Chandler.

"Tripp's the starter right now," Richt said. "By the end of the week, he may not be. I don't know. He's still a guy that's going to play a ton and we're going to need him to win."

Stafford did not start against Ole Miss, but rotated with Joe Cox and played the entire second half. He completed 7 of 18 passes for 91 yards in Georgia's 14-9 victory.

Corrao worked last season as a defensive graduate assistant and ran the scout team.

In the new book "Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting" by Bruce Feldman of ESPN The Magazine, Corrao said Rebels walk-on quarterback Cliff Davis had as strong an arm of any quarterback Ole Miss faced last year.

"That freshman at Georgia, Matt Stafford, who was supposed to have the best arm of any quarterback in his class?" Corrao said. "He doesn't throw it as well as Cliff does."

Davis quit the Ole Miss team this spring.

Richt decides to open practice one day a week

Media will be allowed to view practice for 20 minutes on Tuesdays as part of a new policy Richt announced. Practice will be open only during four periods when players do fundamental work in pads and "there is no strategy involved at that time," Richt said.

Practices were closed for all of last week for the first time in Richt's seven seasons.

"I think the focus was better," Richt said.

This and that

There is still no plan to move Knowshon Moreno into the starting tailback spot ahead of senior Thomas Brown. Both rushed for 74 yards Saturday. Moreno "is not ready to be the starter yet," Richt said. "He's talented, but he's still growing. He's still learning what to do, and Thomas is playing extremely well in his own right and he's a great leader, too." ...Safety Kelin Johnson, shaken up against Alabama in the second half before returning, practiced in a non-contact jersey. ...Tailback Kregg Lumpkin, who is wearing a cast on his broken thumb, probably will be limited to special teams again this week. ... Georgia is a 15-point favorite.